Weirdly enough, its May 15th, and pouring rain in Southern California. I know it’s not cold according to the rest of the country’s standards, but truthfully, I’m pretty chilly, and the one thing I crave when it’s remotely cold is a big bowl of hot soup to warm me up from the inside out. This Pozzuoli soup is a hearty, yet light meal, that can be served as a side to your favorite Mexican entre, or as a main course (as I did) with a simple quesadilla on the side. It is a bit of a process because it has many components, however it serves 5-6 people, or you can make it and use it throughout the week.
I made this soup last night and have it sitting in my thermos for lunch. I also love to freeze individual servings of soup so that when I’m crunched for time or don’t want to cook, I have a home-made meal just waiting to be thawed out! This is one of my favorite go-to soups, and I hope it becomes one of yours too!
NOTE: This dish is gluten free, and can be made vegan by leaving out the chicken, and replacing chicken stock with vegetable stock. I promise it will still be delicious!
For the sauce:
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2 cups cilantro (leaves and stems)
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3 green onions (roughly chopped)
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1 large garlic clove
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Juice of one lime
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½ tbs (or more) red chili flakes
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1 tbs soy sauce
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4 tbs olive oil
For the soup:
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2 chicken breasts
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3 baby bell peppers
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1 large handful cherry tomatoes
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3 cloves garlic
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1 large onion
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2 tbs olive oil
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3 cups chicken stock
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4 cups water
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1 bay leaf
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15oz can of black beans (rinsed and drained)
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25oz can of hominy (rinsed and drained)
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Salt and pepper to taste
Start by roughly chopping the bell peppers and onion, and placing them on a foil lined roasting pan with garlic and tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and salt, tossing to coat. Place under broiler for 5-10 minutes until they get some brown color on the. You want to bring out the roasted flavor!
Next make the sauce, placing all listed ingredients into a food processor and blend until it’s a similar consistency to a pesto. Scoop it into a bowl, leaving the residue in the food processor. Place the roasted veggies in the food processor and blend until it’s pureed, but not totally smooth. Almost like a salsa, maybe a little smoother than that.
Leave that mix in the food processor, and begin to brown the whole chicken breasts in some oil in a heavy bottomed stock pot (I use my dutch oven). They may not cook all the way through, but that’s okay because it will cook in the broth. The most important part is to build a good carmelization on the outside. Once the chicken is browned, remove it from the pot and put it in a heat proof bowl to rest. Now add in the pureed bell pepper mixture sautéing for 5 minutes, building even more flavor, then deglaze the pan with the chicken stock and water, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon or spatula. Add it the bay leave and bring to a boil (uncovered).
Shred the chicken with two forks, and set aside. Make sure to rinse and drain the beans and hominy to get rid of some excess sodium, and once soup is boiling, add them in along with shredded chicken, Let simmer for 5 minutes and take it off the heat. Garnish with avocado, the cilantro sauce, and sour cream for an incredibly heartwarming meal!